Rockets share thoughts on potential political demonstrations

We’re weeks away from the 2017-18 NBA season and one of the most talked about topics has been the clash of sports and politics. Most notably, the Golden State Warriors expressed, as a team, that they were not interested in visiting the White House as long as Donald Trump is in office. Even with a multitude of pressing issues, President Trump took it upon himself to send multiple tweets regarding sports, calling out Steph Curry.

Curry announced well before the tweets that he was not interested in attending the White House, but Trump responded saying the offer was no longer on the table (and further upset people with his comments about NFL players).

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!

Curry has expressed that as long as there are no changes to the prejudice being displayed by the President’s rhetoric and positive actions aren’t taken to help eliminate the racial trends of police brutality, his stance will not change.

On the Houston Rockets’ Media Day, Ryan Anderson expressed that he wanted to stay away from politics this season.

“I don’t feel like I should speak out because I don’t have that time and effort. That’s not my life; my life is putting a basketball into a hoop,” Anderson said. “We’re in a very, very tough time where sports and politics are becoming a conjoined thing. To me, I want to steer clear of that. I don’t want to involve politics into my game. I love my teammates, I love this group, I support my family here, I love being a Houston Rocket. I’m in no place to comment about that because this is all stuff that I think just

“I love my teammates, I love this group, I support my family here, I love being a Houston Rocket. I’m in no place to comment about that because this is all stuff that I think just gets so carried away and it’s really unfortunate the way things have turned. For me, genuinely, I just want to focus on my teammates and this season and have a really great year.”

While Anderson is not looking to take part in any political actions, he may run into some trouble as his teammates have already started planning demonstrations for equality this season. Chris Paul is very vocal in his activism and has been for some time now. In addition to calling out Trump on Twitter earlier this week, Paul speaks out against police brutality on major stages – such as the 2016 ESPY awards.

With everything that's going on in our country, why are YOU focused on who's kneeling and visiting the White House??? #StayInYoLane

During the ESPY’s, Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James decided to stand up for their beliefs. Paul has been the President of the National Basketball Players Association since 2013 and was re-elected this past August.

“Generations ago, legends like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and countless others, they set a model for what athletes should stand for,” Paul said during his ESPY’s speech. “So we choose to follow in their footsteps.”

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

When asked about his tweets on Media Day, Paul held his stance: “I said what I said.”

Head coach Mike D’Antoni mentioned that there are clear injustices and that he would support whatever actions his players choose to take this season regarding issues – even if he may not agree with the reasoning behind them.

“I don’t think it was fair what he said,” James Harden said. “Each and every individual person has their belief, [their] freedom of speech. People can stand up for their rights.”

“I think as far as the Rockets, I think we’re going to come together and meet and figure something out together,” Harden added. “That’s the entire motto for this year. We’re in this thing together, we’re going to communicate, we’re not going to have any slippage, and whatever one (person) does, we all do as a team, and so that’s something we’ll talk about in the locker room, and then, we’ll figure it out.”

Paul hinted that league-wide action could be taken as the NBA is typically considered to be the most progressive professional league across sports. Paul sees the NBA stage as an opportunity to use his celebrity to affect real change and make the world a safer place for his family and others who are at risk of injustice every day.

“I mean, I’m not just a basketball player, and I don’t think guys are just athletes,” Paul said. “At the end of the day, when I leave here and take off my jersey and my uniform, when I’m in the car, I’m dad. I have a wife. I have kids. I’m a son to my parents, you know what I mean? I’m a lot more than an athlete.”

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